It’s a cold shoulder from Frost
Former chief Brexit negotiator WON’T back Rishi for No10
LORD Frost last night dropped a large hint that he will not endorse Rishi Sunak as the next prime minister over concerns about tax.
The former Brexit minister – who is on the Right of the party – appeared to dismiss the frontrunner as a ‘continuity Philip Hammond’ candidate.
The peer, who left his role earlier this year, has previously criticised former chancellor Mr Sunak for his Spring Statement, which he said did little to address the cost of living crunch.
Last night, friends of Lord Frost told the Daily Mail that his rejection of a ‘continuity Philip Hammond’ candidate was a massive hint that he would not back Mr Sunak.
Lord Frost tweeted: ‘I’m looking for a leader who is properly committed to Brexit. Someone who is going to take economic policy into a different path. We need tax cuts, we need fiscal support. We don’t need continuity Philip Hammond as our economic policy for the next few years.
‘We need a better approach to net zero. It obviously can’t be done in the way we are approaching it. On immigration – obviously we need to cut the numbers over time.’
Lord Frost’s reference to Mr ‘Continuity Philip Hammond’
Hammond – the chancellor under Theresa May and an arch-Remainer – will be taken as a major slight by Mr Sunak’s supporters.
The peer, who favours cutting taxes, left the Government earlier this year, citing concerns over its ‘direction of travel’. He wrote that Boris Johnson had been ‘an outstanding leader’ during the turbulence over Brexit, and the pair had a ‘close common understanding’ on their aims in that area.
But after saying ‘Brexit is now secure’, he added: ‘You know my concerns about the current direction of travel.
‘I hope we will move as fast as possible to where we need to get to: a lightly regulated, low-tax, entrepreneurial economy, at the cutting edge of modern science and economic change.’
Lord Frost gave a scathing assessment of Mr Sunak’s Spring Statement, warning that reform was needed to properly tackle the cost of living crunch. He said: ‘Spending is at its highest on a sustained basis since the 1970s. That’s not an environment that supports economic growth.’
Lord Frost has no vote in the leadership contest as he is not a Tory MP, but he holds considerable influence over the Right wing of the party.